New intake installed, now engine doesnt want to turn over?

[Foxwolfe]

Ok I'm kinda stumped here, so looking for suggestions on anything that could possibly be causing this.

First off I just installed a new intake, now I'm trying to start the car for the first time to set the timing but the engine is really not wanting to turn over, turns over maybe once and then stops. And its not like when you normally try to start a car its doing it very slowly.

I checked and double checked and everything is hooked up properly, the battery has a fine charge, I even hooked up jumper cables to double check that and it didnt make any bit of difference.

The distributor is installed correctly even though I dont see how that would be effecting it in this particular way.

Now my only guess is the starter, which seems really odd because it had been and was working flawlessly before this, no signs of possibly failure. So this leads me to this question, are starters known to just fail out of nowhere with no prior signs? If so I guess I'll be picking one up to see if thats the problem (unless theres a way to check my current starter while its on the car?).

If you guys think it could be the starter then my next question would be what all will I have to do to replace this thing?

Any and all help is appreciated.

 

[ss93cobra]

Slow start/slow crank is an indicator of a weak battery.

 

[Foxwolfe]

As said the battery has been checked and is not the problem, I hooked up jumper cables to double check (using an F250).

 

[ss93cobra]

Well crap, I must have missed that in the first post, sorry. It would be odd that the starter would do it now of all times. It wouldn't be a wire harness or anything either. No real good way to check the starter on the car either.

 

[88 5.0 hi perf]

i had the same problem when i put my gt40 intake on. it was the wierdest thing. after a couple of frustrating months of trying to find out what was causing this i found out that it was because that the ports on the intake didnt match up to the ports on my windsor heads and every time i tried to start it the water ports would leak over into the intake ports and suck a whole bunch of water into the cylinders. if u have any questions about the process i can help u out more.

 

[jrichker]

Here's a checklist:

Since some of the tests will bypass the safety interlocks, make sure that the car is in neutral and the parking brake is set. Becoming a pancake isn’t part of the repair process…

Check battery, terminal connections, ground, starter relay switch (also known as solenoid) and starter in that order.

A voltmeter is handy if you are familiar with how to use it to find bad connections. Measure the voltage drop across a connection: more than .5 volts across a connection indicates a problem.
See http://www.fluke.com/application_notes/automotive/circuit.asp?AGID=1&SID=103 for help

1.) Will the car start if it is jumped? Then clean battery terminals and check battery.

2.) Check the battery to engine block ground, and the ground behind the engine to the firewall.

3.) Then pull the small push on connector (red wire) off the starter relay (Looks like it is stuck on a screw). Then jump between the screw and the terminal that is connected to the battery. If it starts, the relay is good and your problem is in the rest of the circuit.

4.) Remember to check the ignition switch, neutral safety switch on auto trans and the clutch safety switch on manual trans cars. If they are good, then the relay is bad. See http://www.autozone.com/images/cds/gif/large/0900823d80195963.gif for 88-90 year cars .OR see http://www.autozone.com/images/cds/gif/large/0900823d80195964.gif for 91-93 year cars. See http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiB..._us/0900823d/80/1d/db/3c/0900823d801ddb3c.jsp for 94-95 model cars.

5.) Jump the big terminals on the starter relay next to the battery with a screwdriver - watch out for the sparks! If the engine cranks, the starter and power wiring is good. The starter relay is also known as a starter solenoid.

6.) The starter may be hung, loosen up the bolts that hold it on, and give it a good whack with a big hammer. Tighten up the bolts and try again.

7.) If that doesn't work, use a jumper cable from the positive lead on the battery direct to the starter post where the big wire from the relay connects. If it cranks then, it is the power wire from the relay gone bad. This will be hard to do, since there isn't much room to do it.

8.) Pull the starter and take it to Autozone or Pep Boys and have them test it. Starter fails test, then replace it. If you got this far, the starter is probably bad.

 

[Thenemesis]

i think its a bad ground..

 

[Foxwolfe]

Wow thanks for the post JR, I'll definitely check that out tomorrow as I just got home from work and its really cold out right now.

88 5.0 hi perf: damn man I dont like the sound of that as the intake I just put on is a GT40 (actual gt40 not explorer or cobra). Were the heads stock? What kind of GT40 intake was it? I doubt thats my problem as the extra gaskets for my stock intake fit perfectly on the GT40 I bought, but just would be nice to hear more.

ss93cobra: thats cool I kinda figured you must have missed that part, thanks for the response though.